With the diminishing supply of crude mineral oil, use of renewable energy sources, such as biomass sources, is becoming increasingly important for the production of liquid fuels. These fuels from biomass sources are often referred to as biofuels.
Although a variety of biofuels can be produced from biomass sources, such as ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel and kerosene, and gaseous fuels, such as hydrogen and methane, these fuels may require either new distribution technologies and/or new combustion technologies appropriate for their characteristics. The production of these fuels also tends to be expensive.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide a liquid biofuel composition that can be produced and handled by the existing infrastructure and combustion technologies. In addition it would be advantageous to provide liquid fuel compositions that may be suitable for the existing vehicles tank and fuel delivery systems.
WO2010/135734 describes a method for catalytically cracking a biomass feedstock and a refinery feedstock in a refinery unit having a fluidized reactor. WO2010/135734 further describes that a liquid product or a fraction thereof can be used or sold as a final product and/or can be subject to further processing/upgrading to produce a fuel or specialty chemical. WO2010/135734, however, does not disclose fuel products which are ready to be produced and/or used in the existing infrastructure and combustion technologies.
WO 2010/062611 describes a method for converting solid biomass to hydrocarbons requiring three catalytic conversion steps. First the solid biomass is contacted with a catalyst in a first riser operated at a temperature in the range of from about 50 to about 200° C. to produce a first biomass-catalyst mixture and a first product comprising hydrocarbons (referred to as pretreatment). Hereafter the first biomass-catalyst mixture is charged to a second riser operated at a temperature in the range of from about 200° to about 400° C. to thereby produce a second biomass-catalyst mixture and a second product comprising hydrocarbons (referred to as deoxygenating and cracking); and finally the second biomass-catalyst mixture is charged to a third riser operated at a temperature greater than about 450° C. to thereby produce a spent catalyst and a third product comprising hydrocarbons. The last step is referred to as conversion to produce the fuel or specialty chemical product. WO 2010/062611 mentions the possibility of preparing the biomass for co-processing in conventional petroleum refinery units. The process of WO 2010/062611, however, is cumbersome in that three steps are needed, each step requiring its own specific catalyst. WO 2010/062611 mentions the possibility of blending the first product, the second product and the third product together to form a final product comprising components selected from the group consisting of ethane, propane, butane and hydrocarbons boiling in the range of naphtha, jetfuel, diesel, heating oil and combinations thereof. This final product formed in WO 2010/062611 is, however, not ready for use in for example a transportation vehicle. WO 2010/062611 does not disclose fuel products which are ready to be produced and/or used in the existing infrastructure and combustion technologies.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide biofuel compositions, which can be produced and handled by the existing infrastructure and/or combustion technologies and/or existing vehicles tank and/or fuel delivery systems.